Pruning Sarracenia and Flytrap Dormancy Emergence: Timing and Technique

Sorry, I saw the bit on the site about not sending growing questions only after I posted it.

Hi, just had a question about some pitcher plants I got from you last year.

Saw your booth this weekend at the reptile/exotic animal expo and noticed the pitchers were sheared down to the soil.

I've been trying to figure out how to 'trim' them and have seen some people saying only trim off the 'brown' bits or dead bits. I only ask because they don't seem to be growing any new traps and wondered if my lack of shaving is the cause (they were both outside all winter).

Also, I have a flytrap I bought from you last year as well and it has been outside and while it has its color back no new leaves are growing and I'm not sure what I can do to help it.

Answer

Hi Jesse,

We trim Sarracenia right back to the rhizome, and we are emphatic about doing this. Clipping off last year's leaves opens up the rhizome to more sun which prevents fungal problems, and lets the new growth come up without blockage, and it develops better. The exceptions to this are Sarracenia psittacina and purpurea. Those plants tend to have more evergreen leaves (hybrids of those plants too), so with them just trim off leaves with browning. It's also good to leave the phyllodia (non-carnivorous leaves) on plants like S. flava and S. oreophila.

With your plants, all of our Sarracenia are just starting to come out of dormancy. Same with flytraps. They have some new shoots, but none have fully developed pitchers yet. The big ones you saw that I had at the show were forced under Metal Halide lights in the greenhouse so that you could see what mature plants look like in summer.

If you send me a photo of your plants I'll better be able to help you determine if there a problem or not. Also, be sure and include how you have been caring for your plants over the winter. This was a very mild winter, but depending on how the plants were being cared for, other problems can develop. Here's a link to our current podcast showing what our plants look like: https://www.growcarnivorousplants.com/Articles.asp?ID=251

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
https://www.growcarnivorousplants.com